Mouthpiece



April 22, 1952 WELCH 2,593,821

MOUTHPIECE Filed June 2, 1950 Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITED s'mrssPATENT osrics ivioornrmon Edward Welch, Valley Falls, E. I.

Application June 2, 1950, Serial No. 165,719

3 Claims. (01. 128-136) My present invention relates to protectivedevices, and more particularly to a mouthpiece.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a mouthpieceor guard for protecting the interior of the mouth and teeth.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mouthpiece thatwill fit tightly and will not become dislodged.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a mouthpiecewhich can be anchored to the teeth and need not be removed in use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mouthpiece whichis simple in construction and will not become annoying in the mouth.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, myinvention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully-disclosedin the detailed description following, in conjunc tion with theaccompanying drawings, and more particularly defined in the appendedclaims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the mouthpiece of the present inventionanchored in a persons mouth.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the frame support.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the mouthpiece.

Prize fighters and other athletes in contact sports often wearmouthpieces for guarding the teeth and the interior of the mouth againstinjury. The use of such mouthpieces is compulsory in the case of prizefighters. These mouthpieces are made of thin rubber and are usuallyslipped over the upper teeth and held in place by clenching against thelower teeth. It has been found that when the athlete opens his mouth tobreathe, the mouthpiece often falls out. Furthermore, it has a tendencyto slide around in use and become annoying, so that it distracts thefighter. The present invention is designed to provide a mouthpiece whichcan be made light and simple in construction and yet be firmly andtightly anchored to the teeth without danger of falling out.

Referring more in detail to the drawings 11- lustrating my invention,the mouthpiece l comprises an integral sheet of rubber I l shaped to fitagainst the exterior of the upper teeth, the upper edge l2 being shapedto fit against the upper gums and between the upper gums and the lip, asshown in Figs. 1 and 4. In the conventional mouthpieces now in use, thelower portion of the mouthpiece is usually provided with an integralU-shaped band which extends around the upper teeth and into the interiorof the mouth. This excess rubber tends to get in the way of the tongue,causing the athlete to feel as though his mouth is filled with rubber.Accordingly, the body portion ll may be constructed straight downwardlyto extend slightly beyond the Juneture of the upper and lower teeth inthe form of an apron, or it may be turned slightly inwardly as at I3 toform a ledge upon which the teeth may be clenched, as shown in Fig. 1.

To anchor the mouthpiece 10 into the mouth, I provide a frame, shown inFig. 3, comprising a plastic U-shaped palate member l4 designed to fitinto the roof of the mouth. The portion I4 is made similarly to theconventional bridges and dentures used in the dental arts to anchorfalse teeth into the upper roof of the mouth. From each end iii of themember I4, I provide a resilient wire l6 which is reentrantly bent andis imbedded in the portion Ii, as shown in Fig. 3. The ends of the wires16 overlap in the front, as at IT. The wires It not only form a shapingand stiffening frame for the portion 1 I, but the reentrantly bentportions l8 form rear loops which can be snapped around the rear uppermolars, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to anchor the device to the teeth.

In view of the resiliency of the wires [6 and the inherent resiliency ofthe rubber in portion II, the mouthpiece can be stretched around theteeth and when the portions i8 are snapped around the upper rear molars,the mouthpiece will become resiliently anchored in position. To avoidgaps, the overlapping ends I! of the wires permit a pulling orstretching action while still maintaining a circled wire form around theteeth.

Such a mouthpiece will not slide around in the users mouth and will notgive the feel of a mouthful of rubber. It will allow breathing duringthe exertions of boxing or any other sport. Furthermore, the user candrink water while it is in place and it, therefore, need not be removedduring the rest periods. The combination of the loops i8 and theU-shaped palate member M insures a firm locking of the device inposition. By completely encircling the teeth with the rubber, protectionagainst injury to the teeth or cheeks is provided.

While I have described a specific embodiment of my invention, it isobvious that changes may readily be made in the size, shape and relativearrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A mouthpiece comprising a sheet rubber portion adapted to cover theupper teeth and gums, and means for releasably locking said portion overthe teeth, said means including a wire loop at each inner end of saidportion adapted to snap around the rear teeth, and a U-shaped plasticplate member attached to one end of each wire loop and adapted to abutthe roof of the mouth.

2. A mouthpiece comprising a sheet rubber portion adapted to cover theupper teeth and gums, and means for releasably locking said portion overthe teeth, said means including a wire loop at each inner end of saidportion adapted to snap around the rear teeth, one end of each wire loopbeing imbedded in said rubber portion, and a U-shaped plastic platemember attached to one end of each wire loop and adapted to abut theroof of the mouth.

3. A mouthpiece comprising a sheet rubber 4 portion adapted to cover theupper teeth and gums, and means for releasably locking said portion overthe teeth, said means including a wire loop at each inner end of saidportion adapted to snap around the rear teeth, and being elongated toextend more than midway around the teeth, and a U-shaped plastic platemember attached to one end of each wire 100p and adapted to abut theroof of the mouth.

EDWARD WELCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Y Name Date 2,192,558 Poindexter Mar. 5,1940 2,259,160 Glaser Oct. 14, 1941

